In early April, UCLA will decide whether to fire epidemiologist James Enstrom, a fixture in the UCLA Department of Public Health since the 1970s. If UCLA does give him the boot, Assemblyman Dan Logue has threatened to hold hearings. Whatever happens to Enstrom, legislators have good reason to investigate. Read more
State Democrats are again trying to eliminate the secret-ballot vote for union certification. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg describes his latest measure as “the alternative electoral method for choosing collective bargaining representatives.” It is that, and a lot more. Read more
The previous congressional majority managed to jam Obamacare down the throats of an increasingly resistant nation. Now the fight against Obamacare may have delivered a shock to the system that goes beyond the battle cry of “repeal and replace.” Serious health care reformers, however, still face some unpleasant realities. Read more
Last month a strong bi-partisan coalition in Congress introduced the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act. The program would reauthorize the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program and adds to a burgeoning movement for education choice across the country. Read more
Nine of California’s big-city mayors met recently with Gov. Jerry Brown in an attempt to talk him out of eliminating redevelopment agencies (RDAs) as part of his budget-balancing proposal. Read more
Soon after the new Congress convened last month, one of the first actions by the House of Representatives was a vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (un)popularly known as Obamacare. The repeal action passed with a significant majority in the House and came to a vote in the Senate. Read more
California’s Legislative Analyst (LAO) is a nonpartisan body “providing fiscal and policy advice to the Legislature for more than 70 years,” according to its website. Some of its recent advice is seriously misguided, such as a proposal to expand the power of an unelected body, headed by regulatory zealots, that already has too much clout. Read more
California is facing budget problems yet again, and once again state lawmakers are hoping to shake down Internet retailers as a fast source of revenue. A bill introduced by Democratic Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (AB 153) proposes to force out-of-state businesses to collect tax if they use an in-state company to generate leads. It’s an idea that has been tested in New York and led to significant losses in that state. Read more
A few weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revoked a permit for one of the largest mountain-top coal mining projects in the United States. Read more
National School Choice Week kicks off on January 23, and California should be leading the country in student-centered, parent-driven reform. In the Golden State, unfortunately, system-centered education prevails, and parents empowered to choose their children’s schools are the exception, not the rule.
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